2020 has been a difficult year to say the least, and it has forced us all to find numerous ways to deal with all of the emotional challenges.
Some found solace in meditation, others in the not so wholesome bottom of the bottle, while for heavy metal fans everywhere, it was a matter of turning into their favourite artists and cranking it to 11.
But metal fans donât just casually listen to metal music â they live the metal lifestyle â and that extends to knowing everything there is to know about their favourite genre and artist. Only a metal fan will be able to tell you a random fact like Black Sabbath guitarist, Tony Iommi, having the tips of his fingers cut in a metal foundry in Englandâs Birmingham in the early 70s, which went on to influence his guitar sound.
When your ears need a break from blast beats and shredding, numerous podcasts that unpack the world of metal from numerous angles and deliver fresh insights on both the history and current goings on in the hard rock and metal world, make sure youâre not left behind next time youâre talking metal with your buds.
As we look forward to putting 2020 behind us, here are â in no particular order â the top 21 metal podcasts to tune in to in 2021!
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Hosted by iconic metal journalist and author, and former writer and editor at Sounds, Kerrang!, RAW, and Classic Rock magazines, Mick Wall, Getcha Rocks Off is your backstage pass to over four decades of rock and metal stories that you simply wonât find in print.
Wall, and his co-host and former Kerrang! colleague, Jon Hotten, go deep, with up to 2-hour long conversations and hilarious story-telling on topics such as the Sunset Strip in the 80s, Lars Ulrich and Metallica, the Donington Festival, and the metal gods themselves, Judas Priest.
Find Getcha Rocks Off wherever you listen to podcasts, or visit www.nofilter.media/getcharocksoff
Musician, former television host, and podcaster Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed, Kingdom of Sorrow, Jasta and the former host of MTVâs Headbangerâs Ball) interviews your heroes every Tuesday and Friday.
Find the Jasta Show at gasdigitalnetwork.com/gdn-show-channels/the-jasta-show/
Each week, MetalSucks brings you a feature interview with a prominent metal musician as well as a discussion of the latest metal news headlines. Recent interviews include the likes of David Andersson from Soilwork, TesseracTâs James Monteith, and Motorheadâs Mikkey Dee!
Find the MetalSucks podcast at https://www.metalsucks.net/category/podcast/
Metal Matters, a Gimme Radio podcast, is a weekly podcast hosted by Mike Hill, front man of Metal Blade Recording Artist Tombs. If you love metal and extreme music, tune in every week for discussions about classic records, up-and-coming bands and interviews with your favorite artists.
Find the Metal Matters podcast at https://shows.acast.com/metal-matters/about
The longest running and most comprehensive Metallica podcast on the planet. Over 120 episodes about all things âTallica.
Find Metal Up Your Podcast at metalupyourpodcast.com
Full Metal Hipster offers up the best music and interviews from bands youâre not cool enough to have heard of yet. If you dig black metal, doom metal, thrash metal, power metal, death metal, or any other variety of extreme music, this is the podcast for you. The crew havenât published a new episode since early 2019, but there are over 160 episodes in the back catalogue to explore â kind of like discovering Rushâs back catalogue for the first time.
Find Full Metal Hipster at fullmetalhipster.com
All the biggest news and hottest topics from the world of metal from editors of one of the longest running and biggest metal magazines on the planet, Metal Hammer. Hosted by Merlin Alderslade and Eleanor Goodman.
Listen to the Metal Hammer podcast at play.acast.com/s/the-metal-hammer-podcast
Not a podcast, per se, but a 24x7 metal radio station that you can tune in to from anywhere. Hosted by one of the most influential names in Australiaâs hard rock and heavy metal community, and bringing you not only interviews with the biggest names in the business, but your daily dose of classic and new metal tracks.
Listen to AndrewHaug.com at, you guessed it, genius, andrewhaug.com
Eddie Trunk, the most well-known name in hard rock and metal music, brings his insight, commentary, reviews, discussion and in-depth interviews to the podcast world! Join Eddie and his famous friends in rock and entertainment every week for a rollicking good time.
Find the Eddie Trunk podcast at www.acast.com/eddietrunkpodcast
Launching new episodes every month, The Rockpit Podcast is hosted by the team at The Rockpit and features all new music and discussions from the world of hard rock, metal and blues along with interviews and exclusive segments throughout the show. Recent interviews include names from both extremes of the metal spectrum, from Trixterâs PJ Farley to former Sepultura mainman, Max Cavalera!
Find The Rockpit Podcast at therockpit.net
The team at Metal Injection have delivered almost 600 episodes of their livecast so with that kind of longevity, you know they must be doing something right by their audience! Recent guests include Orianthi, Jordan Uhl and Axl Rose(nberg).
Find Metal Injectionâs podcast, and their comprehensive metal news site, at metalinjection.net
The Sons of Metal Podcast is a twice-monthly heavy metal discussion podcast hosted by C. Hagen Radick and Doug Austin. Every month, the pair discuss six heavy metal albums consisting of newer releases, indie/minor label bands, and one classic album. Their different ages, backgrounds, and tastes make for some interesting takes on a wide variety of metal. Plus they have what is without a doubt, the coolest logo in all of the metal podcast world.
Find Sons of Metal at sonsofmetalpodcast.com
Hosted by Christopher Swinney, former member of The Ataris, Brazil, Undermined and The Widow Jenkins, this podcast offers a trip down memory lane as Swinney reminisces and/or commiserates about what it is like to be a road warrior and live your dream.
Find That One Time on Tour at jabberjawmedia.com/podcasts/that-one-time-on-tour
Art Of Touring is a Podcast hosted by Australian-based musician, Dave Sirianni (aka Siz Dog), and he talks with mostly rock and metal musicians about life on the road.
Find Art of Touring at anchor.fm/artoftouring
With a tagline that reads âHail and Kill! Fuck You, Pal! Handjob!â, you know youâre in for nothinâ but a good time with these guys. Since 1996, the Classic Metal Show has been causing chaos throughout the world on the strength of their no holds barred, uncensored look at pop culture, sex, politics, religion, movies, tv and music⊠yes, that glorious classic hard rock that peaked in the mid â80s!
Find the Classic Metal Show at www.cmspn.com/theclassicmetalshow
900 episodes and counting. Hosted by Mark Strigl, Talking Metal is one of the longest running and prominent shows in the metal world. Recent interviews include Joey Vera, Phil Campbell, and the one and only, Mr. Rob Halford. Enough said.
Find Talking Metal at talkingrock.net/talking-metal/
Decibel Geek is a hard rock and heavy metal discussion podcast designed to entertain folks with what they suggest is resplendent taste in respectable music. The team is over 430 episodes and almost 10 years in, so maybe itâs time to be fashionably late to the party!
Find Decibel Geek at decibelgeek.com
Skullsessions includes interviews and discussions with some of the most notorious and knowledgeable heavy metal musicians, journalists, authors, label owners, music execs and more. Whether itâs 70âs proto metal, NWOBHM, or thrash, hardcore and doom, theyâve gone you covered.
Find ShockwavesSkullsessions at shockwavesradio.com
Put simply, a podcast about the heaviest of metal. The crew have just launched a thrash extravaganza series that takes you behind the curtain with Vio-lence, Whiplash and Blind Illusion, so you know these guys are going deep into the weeds.
Find Requiem Metal at requiemmetal.com
Three friends discussing metal with varying degrees of seriousness. Theyâve not published any new material for a couple of years, but with episode titles like War Metal (No Not That Kind), Weird International Death Metal Debuts, and The Weed Man Cometh, you just know this is worth a spin!
Find Are You Morbid at areyoumorbidpodcast.podbean.com
And we conclude our list with the monster that is the Focus on Metal podcast, now 484 episodes young. For 10 years, the team have been bringing us weekly episodes on all things metal, so with unwavering persistence like that, you canât not check this out.
Find Focus on Metal at focusonmetal.com
Okay, so we lied. While we said 21 podcasts, we would be remiss not to mention the podcast hosted by none other than Machine Headâs Rob Flynn, No Fuckinâ Regrets. Listen every week as Robb brings you backstage while he tours the world bringing you deeper inside the makings of a hard-living touring musician, interviewing friends in bands, his die-hard Machine Head fans (affectionately called âHead Casesâ), as well as the wacky cast of his road crew.
Find NFR at gasdigitalnetwork.com/gdn-show-channels/no-fuckin-regrets
Oh what the hell, weâve already broken the rules, so hereâs another one. I Wanna Talk, hosted by the legendary Twister Sister frontman, Dee Snider, who famously stood up to the PMRC at US Congress in the 80s. You know the man can talk.
Find I Wanna Talk at https://gasdigitalnetwork.com/gdn-show-channels/i-wanna-talk/
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Steve Glaveski is on a mission to unlock your potential to do your best work and live your best life. He is the founder of innovation accelerator, Collective Campus, author of several books, including Employee to Entrepreneur and Time Rich, and productivity contributor for Harvard Business Review. Heâs a chronic autodidact and is into everything from 80s metal and high-intensity workouts to attempting to surf and hold a warrior three pose.